Charles Hires Director Of Business Development

George A. Robertson of Louisiana has been hired as Charles County's economic development director, after a lengthy search to fill a job that is seen as pivotal in the fast-growing jurisdiction.

He will replace the acting director, Marcia Keeth, who took over after former director John Reardon accepted an offer from Facchina Construction in Charles. Robertson will begin work Aug. 4 at a yearly salary of $144,000.

The announcement last week of Robertson's hiring ended a year-long search. The job was reposted in February after the county's Board of Commissioners rejected two finalists.

Economic development has been among the priorities of County Administrator Paul W. Comfort during his 14 months in office. The county, touting its relatively low real estate prices, strong schools and suburban-rural communities, is attempting to lure major corporations to open offices in Southern Maryland.

Commissioners said they expect Robertson to continue those efforts, picking up where Reardon left off as he worked to bring a natural-gas-fueled power plant and a technology park to the region. Keeth said last month that the county is close to announcing a handful of other major successes.

"Twenty years from now, I think we'll look back and say these couple of years were the turning point for the county," Keeth said.

Robertson most recently led an Alexandria, La., private economic development organization serving 11 parishes in central Louisiana. As the first chief executive officer of the Cenla Advantage Partnership, he focused on bringing high-income jobs to the area.

Before that, Robertson was president of the economic development corporation in Schenectady, N.Y., for 20 years. The once-prominent manufacturing city has struggled in recent years with massive job losses, primarily at General Electric.

Charles County commissioners President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large) said that Robertson led a turnaround effort in which Schenectady replaced 20,000 jobs and add 6,000 new ones. Under Robertson's watch, the city also rejuvenated its dilapidated downtown area with $100 million worth of construction projects.

Robertson graduated from Yankton College in South Dakota with a degree in theology and communication arts. Before his work in Schenectady, he was an executive at a bus company and an independent research firm, and he served as economic development director in the South Dakota governor's office.

Cooper said that Robertson has focused on developing workplace opportunities in his previous positions and will do the same in Charles.

Robertson was teaching a class in Mexico last week and was unavailable for comment, but he said in a statement that he is excited about the opportunities and challenges posed by the county.

"The County has made a lot of progress, and I look forward to working with the commissioners and county administrator in exploring and implementing creative economic development solutions to the fast changing economic environment of the 21st Century," Robertson wrote.